http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/environmental_audit_committee/eac_21_07_05b.cfm 




  ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT COMMITTEE


      21 July 2005
      ------------------------------------------------------------------------
      NEW INQUIRY


      Keeping the Lights on: Nuclear, Renewables, and Climate Change

The Environmental Audit Committee is today launching an inquiry to 
examine the options for investment in meeting future requirements for 
new electricity generating capacity. The inquiry will focus on the 
relative costs of different technologies, including nuclear, the various 
forms of renewables (wind, wave, tidal, PV), and microgeneration, and 
the contributions which they can make. It will consider the scale of the 
investment required and the extent to which such investment would help 
achieve the objectives set out in the Energy White Paper of promoting a 
step-change in energy efficiency and the deployment of renewables. It 
will also examine the role these different technologies might play in 
reducing carbon emissions and contributing to security of supply.

The Energy White Paper, published in March 2003, set out a vision in 
which renewables and energy efficiency would play a key role in UK 
energy policy and plug the gap left by the decline of current nuclear 
and coal generating capacity. It saw no need for promoting a new 
generation of nuclear power stations although it suggested that 
technical expertise in this area should be maintained. Over the last 
year, however, there has been renewed discussion of the nuclear option, 
prompted by the recent poor performance of the UK in terms of carbon 
emissions and by a widespread perception that parts of Government are 
strongly in favour of nuclear new build. There is also some concern that 
uncertainty regarding the Government’s intentions in this respect might 
also damage future investment in renewables and energy efficiency, and a 
number of recent studies have emphasised the important role that these 
can play. In view of such developments, and the scale of investment 
required in future electricity generating plant, the Committee believes 
an inquiry on this topic would be timely.

The Committee invites organisations and members of the public to submit 
memoranda setting out their views on this inquiry. Some specific issues 
on which the Committee would welcome comments are set out overleaf, 
though respondents are free to comment on any issues which they consider 
relevant.

Written evidence should be sent to the Committee by 21 September 2005, 
preferably by e-mail to [log in to unmask] (it is important we are also 
sent a hard copy by post). A brief guidance note on the preparation and 
submission of evidence is available on the Committee’s web pages. For 
further information on the this inquiry, please telephone 020-7219-1378.

*Inquiry Issues*

[NB: ‘nuclear new build’ is used to refer to a programme of building at 
least eight AP1000 reactors (or equivalent).]

A: The extent of the ‘generation gap’

1: What are the latest estimates of the likely shortfall in electricity 
generating capacity caused by the phase-out of existing nuclear power 
stations and some older coal plant? How do these relate to electricity 
demand forecasts and to the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies?

B: Financial costs and investment considerations

2: What are the main investment options for electricity generating 
capacity? What would be the likely costs and timescales of different 
generating technologies?

• What are the likely construction and on-going operating costs of 
different large-scale technologies (eg nuclear new build, CCGT, clean 
coal, on-shore wind, off-shore wind, wave and tidal) in terms of the 
total investment required and in terms of the likely costs of generation 
(p/kWh)? Over what timescale could they become operational?

• With regard to nuclear new build, how realistic and robust are cost 
estimates in the light of past experience? What are the hidden costs (eg 
waste, insurance, security) associated with nuclear? How do the waste 
and decommissioning costs of nuclear new build relate to the costs of 
dealing with the current nuclear waste legacy, and how confident can we 
be that the nuclear industry would invest adequately in funds 
ring-fenced for future waste disposal?

• Is there the technical and physical capacity for renewables to deliver 
the scale of generation required? If there is the capacity, are any 
policy changes required to enable it to do so?

• What are the relative efficiencies of different generating 
technologies? In particular, what contribution can micro-generation 
(micro-CHP, micro-wind, PV) make, and how would it affect investment in 
large-scale generating capacity?

3: What is the attitude of financial institutions to investment in 
different forms of generation?

• What is the attitude of financial institutions to the risks involved 
in nuclear new build and the scale of the investment required? How does 
this compare with attitudes towards investment in CCGT and renewables?

• How much Government financial support would be required to facilitate 
private sector investment in nuclear new build? How would such support 
be provided? How compatible is such support with liberalised energy 
markets?

• What impact would a major programme of investment in nuclear have on 
investment in renewables and energy efficiency?

C: Strategic benefits

4: If nuclear new build requires Government financial support, on what 
basis would such support be justified? What public good(s) would it 
deliver?

• To what extent and over what timeframe would nuclear new build reduce 
carbon emissions?

• To what extent would nuclear new build contribute to security of 
supply (ie keeping the lights on)?

• Is nuclear new build compatible with the Government’s aims on security 
and terrorism both within the UK and worldwide?

5: In respect of these issues [Q 4], how does the nuclear option compare 
with a major programme of investment in renewables, microgeneration, and 
energy efficiency? How compatible are the various options with each 
other and with the strategy set out in the Energy White Paper?

D: Other issues

6: How carbon-free is nuclear energy? What level of carbon emissions 
would be associated with (a) construction and (b) operation of a new 
nuclear power station? How carbon-intensive is the mining and processing 
of uranium ore?

7: Should nuclear new build be conditional on the development of 
scientifically and publicly acceptable solutions to the problems of 
managing nuclear waste, as recommended in 2000 by the RCEP?

Notes for Editors

1. Details of all the Committee’s press releases and inquiries, together 
with its Reports, oral evidence and other publications, are available on 
the Committee’s Internet homepage 
<http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/environmental_audit_committee/www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/environmental_audit_committee.cfm>.